Features

Shopping

Dubai is a shopaholic’s heaven. In most malls, souks and local markets, it’s easy to get carried away with your spending – the only thing stopping you is the baggage allowance.

The shops stay open late, closing at 11pm, so if you’re on a late evening or early morning flight you can still get last-minute treats.

Best buys: top-quality saris were ours in the souks for only £15, so don’t forget to haggle for those ultimate bargains - it’s all part of the fun.

The Mall of the Emirates has all the big names including Prada, Gucci and Zara. Myriad items are available, from trainers, watches and bracelets to miniature glass ornaments of the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab hotel.

Head to Al Fahidi Street and Al Sabkha for electronic goods, or to Khalid Bin Walid Road for computers.

Nightlife and dining

Eating out in Dubai is a magical experience, from the Al Muntaha restaurant suspended 200 metres high within the Burj Al Arab with awe-inspiring views of the Dubai coastline, to dinner on a dhow cruise on Dubai Creek.

Almost every type of food is available, from spicy Middle Eastern dishes to familiar European cuisine and specialties from around the globe. Overall, the food in any hotel is excellent and restaurants are eager to please, whatever your taste.

My personal recommendation would be Pierchic, a seafood restaurant at the end of the pier opposite the Al Qasr hotel at Madinat Jumeirah. Choose an outside table for fantastic views of the Burj Al Arab.

Dubai has numerous entertainment areas, discos, nightclubs, Irish bars, pubs and concert venues. Licensed premises are attached to four and five-star hotels and sports clubs. It’s always easy to find a place to go – just head for the nearest hotel.

Activities

Hit the snowy ski slopes at the Mall of the Emirates or wander around Ski Dubai with its toboggan track, snowball throwing gallery and ice cavern. Entry fees include use of cold weather gear.

Wild Wadi water park, near the Burj Al Arab, has the fastest water rides outside North America. For a more gentle experience, drift around the lazy river in a rubber ring and if you get stuck expect help from a friendly lifeguard.

What to see

It’s hard to believe the huge city of Dubai was once a small fishing village. A series of interesting exhibits at Dubai Museum, housed inside the impressive 18th-century Al Fahidi Fort, takes visitors back to those days.

Check out the amazing gold souk where everything is sold by weight. At the spice souk spices can be bought straight from sacks or already wrapped and packed. Good buys are peppercorns, saffron, dried chillies and dates. You can even get curry powder made especially for you. Don’t worry if you run out of cash to pay for all these treats – cards are widely accepted.

Crane your neck and gaze at the Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building. The tower is currently 156 floors high and still to be finished. Comprising shops, offices and residences, it is one of the most distinctive sights on the ever-changing
Dubai skyline and the tip of the spire can be seen from 60 miles away.

For a relaxing sightseeing trip take a journey down Dubai Creek on board an abra (local water taxi), or a traditional dhow. You can see older buildings, such as the wind towers of the Bastakiya District, built to keep the properties cool in the long, hot summers.

Jumeirah Mosque is open to visitors every Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday from 10am. A tour lasts about one hour. Ladies must cover arms, legs and heads and gentlemen must wear long trousers and shirts. Photography is allowed.

Ramadan

Takes place in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and in 2008 it will fall approximately from September 4 to October 4. The dates are brought forward about 10 days every year as it is based on the lunar, rather than the solar, cycle.

Apart from the eating areas in hotels being discreetly screened off out of respect for Muslims who are fasting, and others closed during daylight hours, non-fasting visitors experience little difference during Ramadan.

The hotels still serve alcohol in the evenings. When we were travelling around the city on the coach we were able to drink water with the curtains drawn. At sunset it’s celebration time for everyone who’s been fasting, with hotels serving Iftar – or fast-breaking – meals. These consist of dates, dried fruits and juices, followed by grilled meat and flavoured rice, Arabian sweets, then a puff on a shisha, or hubbly-bubbly, pipe.

Further information

>> Dubai: on the beach
>> Dubai: in the desert
>> Dubai: future attractions
>> Dubai: getting there
>> Dubai: agent training programme
>> Dubai: hotel reviews

by Lora Bolton